The Rainbow Times 2016 Endorsements Released

The endorsements are based on research of candidates’ pro-equality stances across the board

By: TRT Editorial Staff—

Presidential Candidates:

Hillary Clinton for President

It’s Hillary or Donald. Is there really a choice? Of course, our pick is Clinton and we will only focus on the candidates that are inclusive of everyone and who show a history of fighting and having direct solutions to advocate for human and equal rights for all Americans.

Although there are additional candidates in the race—Jill Stein and Gary Johnson—there is no one that can light a torch to anything comparable to what Clinton has accomplished in her tenure as First Lady, NY Senator (who was in office at the time of 9/11), and most recently as Secretary of State—traveling the world to improve U.S. relations. No one else in the race for the White House has a realistic opportunity to defeat, possibly the most dangerous presidential candidate in U.S. history, Donald Trump, who at the present time is in the middle of a tax disaster like no other seen before by a presidential candidate. The GOP has never been so fragmented as it is today. Many former presidents, GOP voters from all levels of the spectrum, and newspapers that always endorsed GOP candidates in the past, have broken such decades of tradition and have come in support of Hillary Clinton. Regardless of what is said about Clinton and her leadership or decisions made throughout a lifetime of being a public servant, she is simply unmatched and a steady hand that this country needs.

Clinton has proven her dedication to the LGBTQ, Black, LatinX, immigrant, women, children and other marginalized communities for countless years and in countless ways. As a U.S. senator, Clinton fought for legislation to address hate crimes and advocated for federal non-discrimination legislation to protect the LGBTQ community in the workplace. She called for an end to discrimination that restricted members of our community from adopting children.

As First Lady, Clinton was the initial pioneer advocating for universal healthcare for all under her husband’s presidency—a battle she lost due to an alleged Senate filibuster. This loss set the pace for ACA’s passage under President Barack Obama, so many years later. Not turning away from healthcare coverage, she then fought for children’s insurance through the Children Health Insurance Program, CHIP. The late-Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass. received much of the credit for CHIP, but in 2007 Kennedy told the Associated Press that Hillary Clinton played a critical role in it by saying it “wouldn’t be in existence today if we didn’t have Hillary pushing for it from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.”

As secretary of state, Clinton traveled the world and, according to many reports, rebuilt the image of the U.S. around the globe. She championed LGBT rights at home and abroad and enforced anti-discrimination regulations within the State Department. “Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,” she proclaimed on the world stage.

She continues to chip away at the glass ceiling, she has pioneered the efforts to pass the first-ever U.N. Resolution on LGBT Human Rights, launched the Global Equality Fund, ended State Department regulations that denied same-sex couples and their families equal rights, and helped implement LGBT-friendly workplace policies. Due to her leadership at the State Department, transgender individuals are able to carry passports that reflect their true gender identity.

Clinton recognizes that separate is not equal, that there are grave socio-economic disparities arising from social injustice and she knows that the only way to move ahead is #strongertogether. We are looking for a candidate that is based in firm reality and comes up with creative, yet realistic solutions to the problems we face in the U.S. and abroad. Her relationships with world leaders place her in an advantageous position to continue negotiations that will serve to protect American interests, as she did as Secretary of State in the Obama Administration—all of our interests. Never has there been a better-prepared person to take on the Oval Office and never has there been a more qualified one either. In terms of relationships with Russia, we also trust Clinton to listen while holding them accountable for any possible action too.

Clinton makes it well known that her campaign platform lifts up the LGBT community and other oppressed groups. She will continue to fight for us, by our side and without diminishing our lives or struggles in the process. That is why we stand with her today.

The choice is clear. It’s Hillary Clinton for President. Plus, we like the sound of “Madame President.”

Massachusetts

We are fortunate to be a part of a Democratic Commonwealth that has members of the Senate, House and U.S. Congress that advocate fiercely and relentlessly for LGBTQ rights and protections. Most recently, an “Act Relative to Transgender Anti-discrimination” passed the Massachusetts legislature, protecting the rights of the transgender community in public accommodations, which was just enacted on October 1. The fight ensues to ensure “religious freedoms” do not justify persecution against marginalized groups like the LGBTQ community. Additionally, the intersectionality of our varied identities must be protected by those we elect to hold public office too. This is not just a mainstream world any longer. We are better because we are diverse; even better because we are inclusive.

Social justice movements throughout the country have erupted as black men are killed at grossly disproportionate numbers, immigrants and Muslims are being profiled and subjected to criminal treatment, women and children are being trafficked and trans women of color are being killed on our streets for simply being themselves and at a higher rate than any other group. The list goes on.

We’ve examined the records of the candidates on the 2016 ballot and found several who particularly stuck out that we trust to continue to bring fight to the State House and Beacon Hill on our behalf.

Here are our top equal rights’ candidates:

Congress

Joe Kennedy, 4th District of Massachusetts

Seth Moulton, 6th District of Massachusetts

State Senate

Stan Rosenberg (Hampshire, Franklin & Worcester)

Jack Patrick Lewis (7th Middlesex)

Julian Cyr (Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket)

House of Representatives

Speaker Robert DeLeo, 19th Suffolk

Paul Tucker, 7th Essex

Byron Rushing, 9th Suffolk

Liz Malia, 11th Suffolk

Governor’s Council

Eileen Duff, 5th Governor’s Council District

Other Endorsees TRT has chosen are:

Congress

Katherine Clark, Fifth District

Senate

Jason Lewis, Fifth Middlesex District

Jamie Eldridge, Middlesex & Worcester

Linda Dorcena Forry, First Suffolk

Sonia Chang-Diaz, Second Suffolk

House of Representatives

Dylan Fernandes, Barnstable, Duke and Nantucket*

Denise Provost, Twenty-Seventh Middlesex

Whomever you support in this election cycle, the most critical component is to get out and vote. We cannot afford to be complacent. Our future relies on it.

*First-time candidate

[This story originally ran on the October 6 issue of The Rainbow Times.]